Aaron Pierre On Messing With the History of KRYPTON

Fans are about to get a history lesson and more on Superman’s home planet as KRYPTON has arrived on SYFY. The story follows his grandfather Seg-El 200 years before the planet’s destruction as he tries to reclaim his family’s honor. However, he will have to face some obstacles along the way.

With some characters pulled from the comics, it’ll be interesting to see the show’s own depictions of them. Speaking with Aaron Pierre, he talks about playing Dev-Em and what viewers can expect from the series.

Courtesy of SYFY.

CV: How did you land the role of Dev-Em? What was the audition like?

AP: I remember the first time I received the script and I knew that I had an audition for the role. When I spoke to my mom, I told her how much I wanted to play this character and how much it would mean to me. My mom’s very good at putting things as they should be. Her response to me was, “Well, you better go and get it!” At that moment, I thought, “Ok, I got to work hard for this.”

So I did a lot of research, I went over my lines tirelessly, and got into the room. I had a really wonderful experience with the casting director and came back again for a recall. The whole process happened and eventually, I was offered the role as I was beside myself. I’m over of the moon, so honored, and thankful to be given the opportunity to be part of it.

CV: How familiar were you with the world of Superman and his homeworld of KRYPTON?

AP: Whenever I could get the money together to purchase a comic or see a film, that was something I like doing. Growing up, I read comics when I had the money and I did go see films when I could. I think comics and movies were the first time for me to consciously allow my imagination to go wild. I invest in these characters and their beliefs, what they stand for, where they’re from, their alliances, and their foes.

That was the first time I really unconsciously allowed my imagination to go wild. I think before that when you’re really a kid, it’s something you do unconsciously. You don’t allow it to happen, it just happens. When I was of age to read comics, that was when I went for it and had a great time.

CV: Reading the comics, was that part of your research going into KRYPTON?

AP: Yeah, for sure. I’ve researched on Dev-Em’s history because he’s depicted in numerous different ways prior to our depiction on KRYPTON. He first appeared in Adventure Comics in 1961 and since then, he’s appeared a few times in different forms. At one point he was a juvenile delinquent, another as a criminal in the Phantom Zone, and then as a Daxamite.

There are various different depictions, so I definitely looked into that. I’ve also taken time to find out who Dev-Em is, what he stands for, and why. We saw this as an opportunity to pay homage to all the rich history that has been provided to us. We also establish who we believe Dev-Em is, so I took time to work out why I thought he represented.

Courtesy of SYFY.

CV: What kind of a version are we getting on the show?

AP: I think for us, this is an untold story so I think what we’re bringing is paying homage to the history. But, we’re also bringing an untold and unknown version of these characters. So, I guess it’s a bit of both.

CV: What kind of training did you get to do to prep for the character?

AP: Before going on location to film, we were training with the stunt team. They were absolutely phenomenal. We were learning introductions in different forms of movement and they really pushed us beyond what we thought our capabilities were but that was what was so exciting about it.

That was our introduction essentially to the shoot and that gave us the opportunity to understand what sort of shoot it would be. It’s a type of shoot where everybody’s invested and passionate about it. We all motivated each other to go beyond where we thought we could. That’s why it was such a fantastic experience.

Courtesy of SYFY.

CV: The set design and effects for this show is like something cinematic on a grand scale. How was it getting to work on a set like that?

AP: I remember the first time I walked onto the set and saw the Fortress of Solitude that was just insane. The majority of the sets were handmade, so people have built these sets and the minor detail is incredible. It really doesn’t require much imagination when you’re on set because it’s all there. So it’s totally amazing.

CV: It must’ve been amazing to see the culture and society that we never got to see from this fictional planet. What did you feel seeing that come to life?

AP: What’s fascinating for me and everybody is the fact that we all know what KRYPTON is and what happened to it but we were never informed of its history. How did they eat, drink, or party? How was their law and order?

We hadn’t ever explored that to the extent that a lot of us wanted to do, so this was an exciting opportunity to be a part of this story that explained in a really awesome way what happened and how these guys lived. It was very exciting, each episode we have received through we were excited to tell the story and tell is as truthfully and with as much passion as we could.

Courtesy of SYFY.

CV: Your character ends up in a love triangle with Lyta-Zod and Seg-El. How does that affect the story?

AP: The relationship is a complicated one Dev and Lyta have. Before becoming one another’s intended, these two had a friendship. It started as a friendship and just a really keen interest in one another. It’s complicated when it was thrust upon them. That’s when it became complicated and convoluted. I think fundamentally that they have a love and care for one another. Their relationship was fundamentally positive because they constantly challenging one another to grow and develop in ways they may not have believed they could.

It’s a very core relationship and of course, there’s a military man who’s well trained so he is aware of something going on between Seg and Lyta in the first two episodes but he hasn’t quite yet identified what it is. He knows it’s there, but he doesn’t know what it is and I hope you guys are excited to see how that develops and manifests itself.

CV: Will the tension between Dev and Seg escalate as well with each episode?

AP: Well I think as time progresses, I think naturally people become more aware of whatever situation they find themselves in. Over time, I think you’ll have to tune in and see how that develops.

Courtesy of SYFY.

CV: What are you excited to see with either your character or with the show?

AP: I think what’s most exciting for me in regards to people watching this show and tuning in is that we’ve put a lot of time, passion, and hard work into telling the history of this famous city Kandor and famous planet KRYPTON. We’re excited to see how our depiction is being received. We want to see how it fits into everybody’s understanding of Superman, his history, and how he came to be. That’s what’s exciting for us, people seeing how he came to be because there was something before this iconic man that we all admire and love.

CV: The show is also playing around a bit with the history of time travel as part of the narrative. How much is that going to change the landscape of KRYPTONand with Superman?

AP: I think it’s awesome, the time traveling aspect of it because what it does is it puts a timer. People have to act and they have to act fast in order to prevent things happening or in order to make things happen. Adding that time travel aspect of it certainly does that which for us is really cool.

CV: I know this is your first foray into American television. You’ve obviously had experience on the small screen back home in the UK. To be cast in your first US series, how did it feel?

AP: When I first heard about that, I was super thankful. I felt truly honored to be a part of a story, which is important to so many people internationally. For me, the two words that come to mind is just thankful and honored because that’s truly how I felt.

CV: I like how diverse this show feels with KRYPTONshowing a society that mirrors ours but also far exceeds that as well. Did you feel the same way going into it?

AP:I think it’s absolutely awesome that KRYPTON is a very representative planet and place. It’s very exciting to be a part of that and it’s very rewarding and I love being a part of this show.

Courtsey of SYFY.

CV: What are your hopes for season two?

AP: We’ve had conversations and there’s a lot that is in store when we go again. We are very excited for that to happen because there are some amazing things in store and we’re also very excited for you to see what we currently got for you guys because it really does start to get more intense, exciting, and fiery. There’s a lot of stuff that’ll hold people’s minds.

Want more KRYPTON? Theseason finale airs tonight at 10PM on SYFY. Check out ComicsVerse.com for more interviews!